Sleeping Arrangements
by amyfoxyfox
Summary: A Sea Patrol fic Mike and Kate pairing. What happens when Kate is forced to sleep in Mike's cabin?
1. Chapter 1

Sleeping Arrangements

I know that this story is totally unrealistic and would never happen in really life but I couldn't resist writing it after the idea came into my head. Feedback is much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sea Patrol or any of its character's. They are property of Channel Nine and McElroy Productions

I dedicate this story to Shannen- Thanks for you kind words and encouragement. This one's for you.

She couldn't believe her luck. She wondered to herself how she had managed to draw the short straw and have to end up sleeping in her CO's bed until they got back to headquarters in six hours time, the bed that just happened to belong to her ex-boyfriend. It didn't help that she still had feelings for this man and that every time she saw him, her heart beat a little faster.

Her bunk was currently being used by a police officer they were transporting back to the mainland from Bright Island. It wasn't that she really liked her bunk, but the fact that it was the CO who had offered it up, and she couldn't really find the words to protest after he offered her his charming smile. Damn him and his perfect smile!

She had pointed the fact that she had no bed to him, as she was handing over a shift in his cabin. He had decided taking one look at her tired form that she would sleep in his cabin which would allow her to have that little extra bit of privacy for a couple of hours sleep before they got back to base. She had tried to protest, but in the end her need for sleep won and this was how she had ended up here, sitting on the end of her CO's bed, staring out into space, her eyes growing heavier by the second. She finally made the last move and lay down, her head gingerly touching the pillow. At once his scent enveloped her senses, it relaxed her and it was like coming home and smelling the unnameable but familiar smell. It was her Mike, and it was with feeling of security that came with his scent, she fell asleep.

While she was sleeping, he was standing alone on the top deck on the ship, looking out at the calm water. It was a quiet night and he had needed to come up here and think for a second. If there was and trouble he was close by, and from here had a good view of everything. The stars shone bright above him, glowing out from a background of blue velvet sky. There was also a warm breeze blowing against his face, blowing his hair around. He loved coming up here on a night like this, it was here that he felt completely at ease. Here and in her presence.

He knew that her sleeping in his cabin could, and in most cases would, be considered fraternisation, one of the things the Navy looked down upon but one look at her tired but beautiful face and he knew that there was only one place he would accommodate her that night and it was in the safety on his cabin. He knew that she would feel safe here, at least he hoped that his presence that lingered in that cabin would, that she would be able to sleep here. She looked so disheartened when she was tired, the usual happy shine behind her eyes had gone and underneath them there were large dark bags. He hated seeing her like this; it was a shadow of the usual X, his Katie, the woman he still had feelings for.

The first light was just touching the horizon's edge when he decided that it was time to wake her a few hours later. They would be at base soon and they would be able to spend a few hours of bliss ashore before coming back to the ship and leaving again for whatever adventure the seas held for them.

When he entered his cabin, it was dark apart from the lamp on his table emulating a small, gentle amount of light. The only sound was she soft, deep, even breaths, steady like the beating of a heart. She was curled in the foetal position under the blankets, her small figure looking even more fragile in sleep. Her blond hair lay out and tangled around her face which was calm and innocent, almost child like. Her beauty seemed to hit him with such force; it was like a tidal wave engulfing his heart.

He stood looking at her for what seemed like a few long moments, and with great sadness he started to do what he had came here for, to wake her. He decided that a gentler option would be better as she had barely had enough sleep and would still be exhausted from the previous night's endeavours. He sat gingerly near her on the bed, where there was just enough room for him to sit. He bent down low and whispered oh so gently in her ear.

'Kate, it's time to get up. We'll be at base in soon. I promise that when we have done what we need to do there, you'll be able to get some decent sleep onshore.'

'Mmmm, Mike' she murmured, still half asleep. It was then that she did the thing that surprised him the most; she lent up, pulled him and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, a quick, small, light kiss, but a kiss none the less. She then turned over so she wasn't facing him anymore.

He couldn't believe that she had just done that. They'd just thrown the rule book out the window, and he had to admit, it felt damn good! His lips still tingled from where hers ad pressed against them A question lingered on his mind though, had she realised what she had just done, or was it in a state of sleep, merely acting on their old, morning habits? Judging by her state of what seemed utmost undisturbed sleep now, he'd say it was the latter, though now there was a definite smile on her features which had not been there before. He glanced sown at his watch again, minutes seemed to have passed so he tried again.

'Kate? Come on it's time to get up. I promise as soon as we're finished at base. I'll find you a quiet place on shore and I'll buy you a bottle of that wine you like.' His voice was once again gentle, as it always seemed to be with her. Her eyes slowly opened at the sound of his voice, it still seemed like part of the dream she was just having, about him of course. Tired green eyes searched for cool brown ones, they eyes locked and she smiled, the type of smile that lit up her face. He broke the look they shared and looked down at the sheets suddenly shy. It was her scratchy voice, still heavy with sleep that broke the silence.

'You know, I might take you up on that offer. So long as you promise that I get to choose it.'

He looked up and met her eyes again; they were begging him to give this another try. He knew they couldn't, he would do it to be with her in a second but he wouldn't risk her career for a relationship with him, she was worth more to him than that. They could be friends but was all for now.

'Katie, we can't' he murmured

'I know, we can't have a relationship, at least not at the moment, but I want to try being friends.' She said with conviction evident in her voice. He smiled down on her once again.

'I'm willing to give this friendship a try.' She nodded and laughed,

'Now, what was it you were saying about wine?'

'Well, activities at base could take a while, I mean, it's nine o'clock now and it'll wake us another hour to get to base. I have a feeling we'll be needed at Nav Com for a good couple of hours, at least until 4 this evening. Then maybe, we could go to my place on shore. Oh course, we'll stop on the way and I'll let you pick the wine' Mike said

'Sound's perfect.' She sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

It seemed like hours later when they were standing on the bridge, looking out at the dock, as they landed softly at the base. In reality, though it was only a few minutes, half an hour at most. She was ordering all the officers to ready for docking and he was dealing with the police officer they were transporting back form Bright Island. Mike had once considered a career in the police force, when he was young and thinking about what to do with his life. It was the Navy that had really appealed to him in the end and now, he was glad that he had joined the Navy. He couldn't of his life without it, it had brought him so many opportunities and really it was the Navy that had brought them, he and Kate, together in the first place.

It was funny, how though they were strict professionally doing their duty in their working hours; they never seemed to be far from each other. It was as though they had this link, and when they needed someone to get them out of a sticky situation, the other just seemed to turn up. Now was one of those moments when he needed her, the officer was being unhelpful. She seemed to have noticed because she came over at that moment, and with her cute little smile, asked the officer if he would like her help to get off the ship. The officer took one look at her, thanked him and headed towards down the stairs towards the deck.

'Thanks,' he whispered as she passed him on her way after the police officer, she turned around and faced him and said, in the softest undertone so no one else could here,

'I'll meet you at the Nav Com entrance at 4:30' he nodded and smiled at her as she turned back around and continued her journey after the police officer.

As the day dragged on she could help but feel more and more anxious as the time rolled round to 4:30. She couldn't believe she was feeling this, like a love struck teenager going out on her first date with the guy she had had a crush on for ages. She couldn't help it though, the thought of him made her smile. The anxious feeling was starting to cause her to zone out of the course she was having to sit in for the afternoon, it didn't really matter though, she had learnt all of this before, at Mike's course, the one where they had met at. It also didn't help that she had had hardly any sleep for the last couple days. The few blissful hours she had slept in Mike's bed this morning was the best sleep she had had in weeks. She found her eyes growing heavier as the monotone voice of the instructor bored on, at least when Mike had done this course it was semi interesting but back then she had taken in his every word so at the end she would have a reason to ask him about something or in other words flirt with him. Finally her eyes closed and she fell asleep, her tiredness once again getting the best of her.

Again it was a kind voice that woke her. It was the man who had been sitting next to her at the session.

'Dear, the sessions just ended. I thought I better wake you.' She could hardly hear him over the sound of people shuffling out of the room. All of a sudden, a feeling of horror came over her. She had just fallen asleep in the middle of a course. The man who had been watching her, seemed to realise what she was thinking for he said,

'Don't worry, no one else apart from me noticed you were asleep. I was going to wake you but I decided that I would leave it until we finished. God knows, you looked like you needed it'

'Thanks' she murmured and smiled up at him.

'It's all right. I guess I'd better be off I promised my wife I would be home in time for dinner.' he said

'Goodbye, Sir,' she said having found her usual strong voice 'and thank you once again.' With one last look down at her he left and she was left sitting alone in the lecture room. Her sleep had left her feeling a little more refreshed than she was before but still exhausted but there was still something else that over took her tiredness, her exhilaration at meeting him. She glanced down at her watch, it was 4:25. She had five minutes to be at the entrance to meet Mike; she gathered her things and left the room, the door echoing as she closed it sharply behind her.

He had been waiting for her for a little over 15 minutes when he finally saw her coming down the stairs from the lecture theatre above. He knew that she had spent the afternoon in a course and so when he had been let out early of his duties at Nav Com because the boss was in a particularly good mood he had headed straight here to wait for her. He had been looking forward to this all day. She looked tired, but still beautiful. It was this sight of her coming towards him that made him really smile. When she finally reached him at the bottom of the stairs, she saluted him with the usual sir. He merely nodded and they began to walk silently from the building, no words were needed in that moment between them. Finally they left the proximity of the Navy yards and all their Navy colleagues behind and he turned to her and took the bag from her hands.

'So how was your day?' he asked, smiling now, but he always seemed to when she was near.

'Bad, I fell asleep in the course,' she said. He laughed at this comment and soon she was laughing too as they walked towards his apartment, which wasn't far away. He always seemed to make everything better.

'How was yours?' she asked

'Pretty good actually,' he replied 'the boss was in a really good mood so when I asked him if the ship could stay ashore for a couple of extra hours he agree immediately and he let me off early this afternoon.' He answered.

'So how long are we ashore for?' she asked

'Until about noon tomorrow, but I reckon we should be back at the ship by about 10' he said. They had reached almost reached his apartment, but there was a matter they had to clear up first.

'So about that wine?' he said as they walked into the bottle shop around the corner from his place. 'I remember you like red'

'Yeah, red would be nice. How about this one?' She said, holding up a bottle

'The choice is in your hands,' he smiled down at her.

'Well, this one it is,' she said and they went over to the counter and paid.

As they entered his apartment, it immediately struck her that it was so him. The colour scheme, the carpet, the layout, the pictures on the walls they all reflected his personality. It was this that made her feel suddenly relaxed here. He walked in the door behind her and placed the wine down on the counter.

'So what do you want to do this evening?' he asked

'Well there is one thing I really want to do before anything else.' She said, 'and that is get out of these clothes'

'Bathroom is down the hall, second on the right' he said 'and while you do that I'll open this bottle.' She smiled at him and picked up her bag off the floor where she had dropped it when she came in and walked to the bathroom. She had decided almost immediately that pyjamas would be her clothing of choice for tonight and as she changed into her soft familiar pyjamas, she felt more at home than she had in a long time.

While she was changing, he set about work in the kitchen looking high and low for the corkscrew. He finally found it when he heard the door of the bathroom creak open again and he saw her padding down his hallway, wearing the cutest pair of fluffy pink pyjamas he had ever seen. It was the sight of her smiling up at him at made his heart contract and wondered if he could ever live his life with out her again.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Ok guys here's the final part of this story. I'm not completely happy with it, I had a severe case of writers block.

'Well don't you look fantastic' he smiled as she sat down on one of the stools near the breakfast bar, facing him.  
'Thanks' she laughed back as she watched him pour out generous amounts of wine, into two identical wine glasses.  
'So you hungry?' he asks just as his stomach growled loudly.  
'Starving, and judging by what I just heard you are too.' She laughed, as his checks turned red with embarrassment.  
'Well, just a little' he said after he regained his composure. 'So want do you want to eat?'  
'Well if it's not too much trouble I have the huge urge for some pasta' she said shyly  
'For you Katie, nothing is too much trouble' slipped out before he could stop it. Slipping into their old routine of him calling her Katie, was so easy.

She hadn't really noticed what he had said, until a guilty look appeared on his face, and she went back over what he had said in her mind. She was so used to him calling her Katie, that she hadn't noticed and it was this fact that slightly worried her. What if he happened to call her that one day aboard ship? It was at this moment that she remembered that Katie was the name he had only used when they were alone, when they were together before. It was his pet name for her, the little word that he would whisper to her as they lay curled up between the sheets. It was this fact, that reassured her that he wouldn't say it on the ship, well at least when no one else was around, he would keep it just for them. It was for only her ears to hear him say it, with such a delicate amount of love and tenderness.

'Kate, I'm sorry' he said, his voice soft and sincere.  
'It's alright, Mike, it's alright. In fact, I like it when you call me that' she replied.  
'You do?' he asked, shocked by this fact.  
'Yeah, but make sure that you only call me that when we are alone' she smiled  
'I think I can do that, Katie' he smiled back at her. 'Well it was pasta you said, right?'  
'Yeah' she sighed. In his eyes she looked so adorable, sitting there in her pink pyjamas. She still looked exhausted, though.  
'Well, Katie after the day you've just had, why don't you go and sit on the couch and watch some TV?' he said, 'I'll cook'  
'Are you sure?' she asked  
'Yeah, I'm sure' he said. That was all the assuring she needed. Her muscles were aching from the uncomfortable chair she had fallen asleep in at the conference. She flopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. She wasn't much on, so she sat and drifted off into her thoughts.

As she sat on the couch, he began cutting and stirring in the kitchen. It was at this moment that he was glad he had learned to cook off his grandma. He had a feeling of butterflies in his stomach; he hoped that his cooking would be alright. He wanted everything to be perfect, wanted to knock her for six with his cooking. He couldn't remember ever cooking for her before; in their first relationship they had eaten a surprising amount of takeaway. It was the smell of delicious food that awoke her from her thoughts, some fifteen minutes later. God, she loved being here, she thought to help as she rose from the cough to see if he needed a hand with anything. When he first came in sight, she had to smile. He was standing there, wiping his brow with one hand and with the other stirring a creamy looking sauce that was bubbling away nicely. She stood there for a minute, just looking at him. It was then that he seemed to sense her presence because her looked up and smiled at her,  
'Katie, it's almost ready'  
'It smells fabulous' she replied, 'are you sure you don't want any help?'  
'Well, you could set the table,' he stated  
'Alright,' she said and she proceeded into the kitchen to find the placemats and the cutlery. After she had successfully found them she set off towards the table humming to herself as he gazed after her.  
They were sitting together, eating their pasta, soon after. Kate had just had a coughing fit from trying to laugh and swallow at the same time after something he had said. He was standing over her, a gentle hand rubbing her back soothingly, having just placed a glass of water on the table in front of her.  
'You okay, Katie?' he asked gently  
'Yeah' she smiled reassuringly. She looked down at the remains of food on the table in front of her. It had been so delicious; she had never known he could cook like that. When he was finally sure she was okay (or when he could finally bring himself to stop rubbing her back) he stood up and began clearing away the plates. He was quite happy with the way it had turned out, and by the look on her face her she took the first mouthful, he'd say she did too. She stood up and took the plates from his hands,  
'Mike, let me. It's the least I can do after that wonderful meal' He allowed her to take the plates, because he knew that he would never hear the end of it if he didn't let her do this.

She stood at the sink running a small amount of hot water to rinse the plates. They hadn't used much and she wanted to make life easier of them in the morning. Just as she finished, Mike came out of his room, finally changed. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt with the Navy symbol printed across it and black shorts.  
'So what do you want to do now?' he asked her, as they both collapsed on the cough  
'Well, we could watch a movie?' she replied  
'Okay, how about…?' he never got to finish that sentence because at that moment all the lights went out around them.  
'Great' he said sarcastically 'it's probably the fuse box.' She just laughed, finding their situation hilarious. He stood up and walked into the kitchen, trying to remember where he'd put the spare candles for a situation like this. After about a minute of going feeling through draws in complete darkness, he felt the candles and a small box of matches. He struck the match and turned round to find Kate standing behind him, he eyes glistening in the light.  
'Katie, if you just want to say here for a second, I'll just go and look at the fuse box' she nodded at him and took the remaining unlit candles from is hands  
'Alright, I fix these up then shall I?' she said and they both went to work.

When Mike came back in the room was full of candlelight, from the candles which Kate had set up around the room. There was nothing wrong with the fuse box, and so he realised that it must be a power cut. It didn't really worry him that much. In fact, secretly he was happy because it meant more time for him to spend talking to Kate. He sat down on the couch beside her, realising how intimate their surroundings were.  
'It looks like a power cut,' he said  
'Oh well,' she sighed 'I guess we'll just have to sit here and talk until the power comes back on.'  
'Sounds good' he replied 'So what do you what to talk about?' She seemed to go suddenly shy and her reply was almost inaudible.  
'I know this is a little childish, but we could play 20 questions'  
'What that?' he asked  
'Well, it's this game where we each get to ask each other 20 questions.'  
'About what?' he interrupted  
'Anything, but you have to tell the truth.' She smiled up at him. 'I'll go first'  
'Okay' he said 'Shoot'  
'Chicken or fish?' she said  
'That's your first question?' he asked. She nodded 'Fine, well I guess it would have to be fish'  
'I thought so,' she said  
'Rugby league or rugby union?' he asked  
'Union' she said 'I'm not sure why but I've always liked it better.'  
'What's the most embarrassing song you like, but would never admit to anyone?' she asked, mischievously  
'This is really shameful' he said 'Toxic by Britney Spears' Upon hearing this she burst out laughing, until she had tears of laugher in her eyes  
'Sorry' she mumbled 'but I never pictured you as a Britney type of guy'  
'You?' he asked 'What's your most embarrassing song?' Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment,  
'My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas' she giggled. He began laughing, recalling the lyrics to the song which he had heard once before, on the radio.  
'Gone with the Wind or Doctor Zhivago?' she asked  
'Gone with the Wind, definitely' he replied  
'First kiss?' he asked  
'Well I was 16 and it was my prom night. His name was Ben and he was my best friend.' He nodded.  
'First love?' she asked  
'I was 16 and it was just before I joined the Navy, she was the most beautiful girl at school and I adored her. It had to end when I joined though.' He said, almost sadly. She smiled at him, knowingly.

An hour and what seemed a million questions later Mike asked,  
'You sick of this yet?' Kate nodded as she began to shiver. He wrapped his arms around her out of habit, and held her close to his chest, trying to warm her up. He was happy with Kate is his arms, it made him feel complete and content. She settled against his chest even though that small annoying voice in her head was screaming at not to. His strong, steady heart was beating just under her ear. It was making her feel tired again. They sat like that in their silence for a while, enjoying their familiar closeness. Mike had noticed that her breathing had become slow and even, realising that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He kissed her head and it suddenly dawned on him, he had never told her that he loved her. He breathed in her familiar scent as he whispered  
'Love you, Katie' thinking that it was better late than never. He sat, holding as her close as he too drifted off to his dreams. They were where they belonged, in each others arms.


End file.
